2026-02-28 23:31:18
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713
The drive back to the city was silent.Daniel drove the first SUV.Ethan sat in the back seat beside Lillian.Neither of them spoke.The strange Key remained tightly closed inside Ethan’s fist.Every few minutes, he glanced at it.Nothing happened.No light.No voice.Just a small, strangely warm piece of metal.Lillian noticed his gaze.“You should keep it hidden.”Ethan looked at her.“Why?”“Because if Daniel was able to find you because of it, others will too.”Ethan looked toward the front.“How many people know about me?”Lillian hesitated.“More than you think.”“That wasn’t my question.”She sighed.“Hundreds.”Ethan’s expression darkened.“Hundreds of people know who I am?”“Not exactly.”“What do they know?”“That you exist.”Ethan looked out the window.The trees slowly disappeared.Streetlights began appearing.Then buildings.Cars.People walking along the sidewalks.The city looked completely normal.Almost painfully normal.Ethan stared at it.After everything he’d seen
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Lillian shook her head.“She only knew that you would have a choice.”Ethan remembered the woman’s voice from the vision.Someday, they will tell you that you were created.His fingers tightened around the Key.Marcus noticed.“You have it.”Ethan looked down.The strange Key rested in his palm.Marcus’s face changed.“That’s impossible.”“What?”“That Key disappeared.”“Apparently not.”Marcus took a step forward.Ethan immediately raised his weapon again.“Don’t.”Marcus stopped.“I need to see it.”“No.”“Ethan—”“No.”His voice became colder.“Everyone keeps telling me what I am.”He looked at Marcus.“Everyone wants something from me.”Then he looked at Lillian.“And apparently everyone has been keeping secrets.”Lillian didn’t argue.Ethan looked back at Marcus.“So here’s what’s going to happen.”Marcus raised an eyebrow.“You’re going to tell me everything.”“And if I refuse?”Ethan smiled faintly.“Then I’ll find out myself.”A sudden scream came from one of the SUVs.Everyon
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The headlights grew brighter.One vehicle became three.Then five.Black SUVs came rushing through the trees, their tires crushing branches beneath them.Ethan stopped.Lillian immediately grabbed his arm.“Keep moving.”Ethan looked at her.“You said they were searching for me.”“They’ve been searching for you for years.”“And you know who they are?”“Yes.”“Then tell me.”Lillian glanced toward the vehicles.“The Order.”Ethan frowned.“The Order?”“A group of people who have been protecting the secrets surrounding Cael’s bloodline for generations.”Ethan looked at the approaching vehicles.“And they’re here to kill me?”“No.”Lillian hesitated.“They’re here to take you.”Ethan’s expression hardened.“That’s worse.”A door opened.A man stepped out of the first SUV.He looked completely ordinary.Black trousers.White shirt.Long dark coat.No armor.No strange weapon.Just a calm man in his early fifties.Two younger men stepped out behind him.Then several others.They spread acr
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Now he understood why the choice existed.The First Origin had reached the same moment.And she had stopped.The First Will stepped forward.“YOU WILL DO THE SAME.”Ethan slowly smiled.“No.”The creature’s eyes narrowed.“I won’t.”The golden-armored commander suddenly charged again.Ethan turned.Their weapons collided.This time, Ethan didn’t move backward.He pushed forward.The commander struggled to hold him.“You don’t know what you’re doing!”“Maybe.”Ethan’s eyes began glowing.“But neither do you.”A burst of power erupted from his body.The commander was thrown across the room.He landed hard.His sword slid from his hand.The soldiers immediately froze.Ethan walked toward him.The commander tried to stand.Ethan placed his weapon against his throat.“Tell me.”The commander stared at him.“Tell you what?”“Why are you so afraid of my choice?”The commander remained silent.Ethan pressed the weapon closer.“Talk.”The commander finally laughed.“You really want to know?”“
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Ethan stared at the three words. INHERIT. DESTROY. CREATE. For a few seconds, he said nothing. The ruined laboratory had gone strangely quiet. Dust drifted through the air. Broken glass covered the floor. Somewhere behind him, water dripped from a damaged pipe. Yet Ethan barely noticed any of it. His eyes remained fixed on the three choices before him. Lillian stood several feet away, watching him carefully. “Ethan.” He didn’t answer. She took a step closer. “You don’t have to choose yet.” Ethan finally looked at her. “You said she knew I would exist.” “Yes.” “She knew I would awaken.” “Yes.” “And she left that message for me.” Lillian nodded slowly. “Then she knew what this moment would look like.” “I think so.” Ethan looked back at the three words. “What happens if I choose inherit?” Lillian hesitated. “The power becomes completely yours.” “And destroy?” “You end the system.” Ethan frowned. “And create?” Lillian’s expression changed. “I don’t know.”
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Ethan stared at the final message.ORIGIN SUBJECT: LILLIAN FROST.For several seconds, he couldn’t move.Lillian.The woman standing above him.The woman he had trusted.The woman who had fought beside him.The woman who was apparently connected to Cael’s original bloodline.And now—The Origin.Ethan slowly raised his head.“Lillian…”She stepped through the opening in the ceiling.Her white coat moved with the wind.She landed silently.The soldiers immediately backed away.Even the golden-armored commander stopped smiling.Lillian looked around the ruined laboratory.Her silver eyes passed over the twelve Keys.Then—They stopped on Ethan.“I told you to step away from them.”Ethan tightened his grip.“No.”Lillian’s expression didn’t change.“You should listen to me.”“I’ve spent enough of my life listening to people who refuse to tell me the truth.”Silence.The hooded figure suddenly stepped between them.“Lillian.”Her eyes shifted toward him.For the first time, her expression
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